Coating material



Patented Sept. 27, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT ore-m1:

COATING MATERIAL Frederick G. Terwfliigcr. momma Heights. OMB

No Drawing. Application Serial No. 673,5

8 Claims. 1 r

This invention relates, as indicated, to novel coating material and morepartioulariy'to a coating material intended to be applied to composi*tion bowling balls and the like.

With the recent widespread increase in popularity of the game ofbowling, a wide variety of accessories have been developed to increasethe precision with which the game may be played. The heavy standardcomposition bowling ball is provided with holes serving as finger gripsand the ball is rolled downa wooden "al1ey against a number of pins.Those skilled in the game are able to control the path of the ball byimparting a twist or spin to it, causing it to follow an armatepath.Diiliculty is, however, often encountered in properly holding orgripping the heavy ball and the latter not infrequently slips from thehand in a manner not intended by the one releasing the same.Furthermore, after the ball has been released, it will generally skidfor some distance along the alley before commencing to roll under theinfluence of the twist or spin imparted to it by the bowler. While mostalleys are kept as clean as possible, it is found that the balls quicklyaccumulate small bits of dirt on their surfaces, some of which isapparently due to the composition ball becoming electrostaticallycharged as it skids on the surface of the alley.

In an effort to overcome some of the foregoing troubles, it is commonpractice with some bowlers to apply powdered chalkto their hands whileothers use a mixture of parafiln'wax and rosin. One disadvantage ofthe'latter mixture is that it tends to crumble and is also likely to beunduly tacky when applied to the hands or the finger grips in the .ball,largely because of the low melting point of such composition.

It is therefore a primary object of my invention to provide a newcomposition which may be applied to the hands or to the surfaceincluding the grip holes of a bowling ball and which will inhibitundesired slipping of the ball either from the hand of the bowler oralong the floor of the alley.

Another object of my lnvention'is to provide such composition which willinhibit dirt' collecting of the ball in use. p

Still another object of my invention is to provide such compositionwhich, while preventing slipping or skidding, will nevertheless not besticky or tacky. Y

Qther objects of my invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention,then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the claims, the following de scriptionsetting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of theinvention, these being indicative, however. of but. a few of the.various June 13. 1946.

ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In general, I have found that if a major proportion of amlcroorystalline wax be admixed with a small amount of a liquid fat,such composition may be readily applied to the hands of the bowler or tothe surface of a composition bowling ball and will effectively preventslipping and skidding of the ball. More particularly, 1 have found thata microcrystalline wax of petroleum origin having a melting pointbetween F". and 175 F. may be employed, but it is much preferred thatsuch a wax having a melting point between 150 F. and 160 F. be used. Theproperties of a preferred microcrystaliine wax which I have employedwith exceptional results are as follows:

Melting point, ASTM. minutes Needle penetration at 77 F. ASTM 25*35Color, Lovibond .s.-.......--.. 150/200 S. U. viscosity at 210 F.(approx) a...

p seconds.a 70 Flash. C. O. C.. F. (minimum) can..- 460 Gravity. A1 1(approx) -a-.. -M- 36.0

The small amount of fat incorporated with such wax will preferably be inthe form of a liquid fat or oil of which the following are specificexamples:

Lard oil Sperm oil Linseed oil Sesame oil Cocoa oil F Degras oilobtained from sheep wool Of the above listed fats, the first three giveparticularly good results. Among the fats not liquid at room temperaturelard has been found to be among the best, although, as above indicated,liquid fats are to be preferred.

Ordinarily, the ingredients will be mixed in proportions of from .90 to99% of microcrystalline wax and from 10% to 1% of liquid fat. otheringredients may of course be incorporated which do not harm theeffectiveness of mycomposition for its intended purpose, includingvarious types of coloring matter to render the composition moreattractive in appearance. The ingredients may be blended by bringing thewax to a temperature slightly above its melting point and thenincorporating the fatty oil with suflicient agitation to exact amountwill depend upon the precise in gradients used. .From about2% to 3% ofthe fat usually gives best results and a superior composi tion wasobtained by combining 2 A of linseed 60 oil (by weight) with 9'1 /a% ofa. microcrystalline wax of the specification set forth above. Theincorporation of this small amount of fat did not reduce the meltingpoint of the wax consequen tially but rendered it more soft andplastiiacilitating application in a'thinner coating to the hard surface of thecomposition bowling ball.

As above indicated, the composition of my in-T vention may be applied tothe hands toobtaina non-s1ip grip on the ball without, however, therebeing any danger of the fingers sticking in the grip holes when it isreleased. -My composition may also be applied to the entire outersurface dirt collecting in use comprising in combination from 90% to 99%of a micro-crystalline wax of petroleum origin having a melting pointbetween 150 F. and 175 F. and from 10% to 1% of a fat.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a composition bowling ball coatedwith a thin film of a of the ball in the form of a very thin coatingthereon by first applying such material to a rotating buff and thenholding the ball against the buff 50- treated. Not only is a ball coatedin this manner readily handled without danger of accidental dropping orrelease, but such ball will commence to roll the moment it hits-thefloor of the alley without first skidding. Furthermore, such ball willnot pick up. small bits of dirt from the alleyas is usually the case,but continues to remain clean for a longperiod of use. In fact, it isordinarily not necessary to clean or re-coat the ball more often thanonce every two weeks.

I have found that while the composition of my invention may be readilyapplied to the hard smooth surface of composition bowling balls,similarly satisfactory results are not obtained when attempting to applythe material to the wooden floor of an alley, Such bowling balls aregenerally made of hard natural rubber, with certain coloring matter andfiller materials added, although hard synthetic rubber has also beenemployed. My'new composition is particularly adapted for application tobowling balls of such material and readily forms a thin but toughcoating thereon. Apparently such coating also serves to insulate thehard rubber ball and prevent the same from becoming electrostaticallycharged. In any case, the ball-so treated will no longer tend to attractand pick up small bits of dirt from the alley. Since such coating keepsthe ball from skidding along the floor with resultant friction, thisaction may likewise reduce the tendency of the ball to becomeelectrostatically charged. The coating, is quite-hard and, as aboveindicated, not sticky, so that it will not itself pick up dirt. Yet ifplain microcrystalline wax with no admixed fat be applied, which is donewith difficulty, dirt will nevertheless adhere to the ball. V V

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a newcomposition and a method of treating bowling balls which render it mucheasier to control the ball in use without any attendant disadvantagesresulting from tackiness of the applied material.

As above indicated, only a small amount of the fat will be incorporatedin my new comoosition as it is not desired to reduce the melting pointtoo far below that of the plain microcrystalline wax. By employing onlyamounts on the order of 2% to 3% of the liquid fat a solid compositionis obtained of desired melting point and plasticity characteristicswhile a composition including appreciably more than 10% of the fat willbe unsatisfactory for my purpose.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed,change being made as regards the details described, provided the mixtureof from 90% to 99% of a micro-crystalline wax of petroleum origin havinga melting point between 150 F. and 175 F. and from 10% to 1% of a liquidfat.

. 3. A composition for coating synthetic composition bowling balls toinhibit slipping and dirtcollecting in use comprising in combinationfrom to 99% of a microcrystalline wax of petroleum origin having a.melting point between F. and F. and from 10% to 1% oL a liquid fat.

4. A composition for coating synthetic composition bowling balls toinhibit slipping and dirtcollecting in use comprising in combinationfrom 90% to.99% of a micro-crystalline wax of petroleum origin having amelting point between 150 F. and 160 F. and from 10% to 1% of lard oil.

5. A composition for coating synthetic composition bowling balls toinhibit slipping and dirtoollecting in use comprising in combinationfrom 90% to 99% of a micro-crystalline wax of petroleum origin having amelting point between 150 F. and 160 F. and from 10% to 1% of sperm oil.

6. A composition for coating synthetic composition bowling balls toinhibit slipping and dirtcollecting in use comprising in combinationfrom 90% to 99% of a micro-crystalline wax of petroleum origin having amelting point between 150 F. and 160 F. and from 10% to 1% of linseedoil. I

7. A composition for coating synthetic composition bowling balls toinhibit slipping and dirtcollecting in use comprising in combinationfrom 97% to 98% of a micro-crystalline wax of petroleum origin having amelting point between 150 F. and 160 F. and from 3% to 2% of linseedoil. r

8. A composition for coating synthetic composition bowling balls toinhibit slipping and dirtcollecting in use comprising in combinationfrom 97% to 98% of a micro-crystalline wax of petroleum origin having amelting point between 150 Ftand 160 F. and from 3% to 2% of a liquidFREDERICK G. TERWILLIGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following'references are of record in the fileofthis patent: Y

.UNITED STATES PATENTS" Date Chemical Technology and Analysis of Oils,Fats and Waxes, LewkowitscnvoLI. page 4, and vol. III, page 414.

